Smith set to join centurion club

10th March 2017By Phil Daly

Yorkshire Carnegie second row Matt Smith Simon Bryant/Iktis Photo

Second row Matt Smith is set to become the latest player to make 100 appearances for the club in all competitions as Yorkshire Carnegie look to progress to the semi finals of the British & Irish Cup for the third time in four years.

Yorkshire travel to the Madejski Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face the league leaders just six days after the two sides met in the Greene King IPA Championship.

Originally from Royston near Barnsley, Smith will make his 100th appearance for the club after joining the club in 2012 from Cornish Pirates.

He played for Sandal in his formative years whilst attending Silcoates School. From here he was spotted by the Carnegie Academy and spent two years at the club before moving to the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) to study for a degree in Sports Conditioning, Rehabilitation and Massage. He represented UWIC in three Finals at Twickenham as well as being selected for England Students before joining Cornish Pirates.

In his first two seasons at the club he made over 40 appearances and was a key player in the 2013-14 season as the team made it through to the Play Offs and the British and Irish Cup Final. He earned a new two-year contract during the season and repaid the club with a positive season, which featured a further 21 times. The following season he helped the team reach the play off semi finals and was a runner up in the B&I Cup Final.

After recovering from an injury at the beginning of the season, he made his debut against Bristol and made 19 appearances. His first try was against Pontypridd and his second came in the memorable win over Cornish Pirates at Otley.

Although a proud Yorkshireman, Matt was actually born in Hexham, Northumberland, while his father Terry was serving in Newcastle with the Army. Matt came from a football background and became a goalkeeper for his local junior team and also played for Barnsley FC Academy and Barnsley Schools FA, and was even offered trials at Manchester United.

During his time at Silcoates, Matt played first team rugby for the School and was selected for the Carnegie Academy where he spent two years, also playing for Yorkshire Under-18s at that time.

Smith will have even more reasons for nerves this weekend ahead of his 100th game as his wife is due with the couples second child any day. On behalf of everyone at Yorkshire Carnegie we wish him the best of luck on and off the field this weekend!